Electric vehicles are becoming too costly for most drivers to afford them. Thankfully, the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV is on the way.
Currently, the most affordable SUV in the electric vehicle market is the Chevy Bolt EUV. Unfortunately, the Bolt EUV isn’t much more than a large hatchback. The Equinox EV is on its way to give us a compact crossover SUV that’s truly useful in the electric vehicle market. In addition to being useful, its affordable, coming in at a $30,000 starting price. While many EVs begin at $10,000 more, this Chevy looks to keep it real with the right price.
Has the Electric Vehicle World Gone Crazy?
Automakers could say that pricing electric vehicles high is akin to when most electronics have come into the market. Unlike the first television or VCR, everyone needs their vehicle. Add to this requirement that federal and state governments are working to phase out gas-powered cars, and we’ve got a recipe for disaster. Some of these electric vehicles, and not ones from luxury brands, are so expensive they cost most than the average annual salary for many Americans. Thankfully, Chevy has you covered.
How Much are Some of the Other EVs?
If the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV is starting at $30,000 shouldn’t other electric vehicles also start at close to this price point? Apparently, none of the other automakers got the memo. The Ford Mustang Mach-E begins at $44,995; the Hyundai Ioniq 5 reaches $41,245 to begin, the Kia EV6 asks for $42,695, and the Tesla Model Y is the worst of all at $69,440. The Volkswagen ID.4 seems to be the most reasonable at $38,790, but that’s still several thousand dollars more than the estimated starting price of the Equinox EV.
Parts Sharing Allows Chevy to Keep the Prices Down
GM has historically been criticized for how broadly its brands share parts. It was so obvious in previous decades that the Cadillac Cimarron and Chevrolet Cavalier were nearly identical. These parts sharing process pays off when it comes to electric vehicles. Because GM has used the same platform across multiple brands for decades, they are ahead of most automakers that are only now learning the benefits of this process. The BEV3 architecture that underpins the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevy Blazer EV will also find its way to the Equinox EV.
Additionally, the Ultium batteries and motors, which have proved to be extremely useful across the GM range of EVs, will power the new electric Equinox. If GM can find a way to share a part from one electric vehicle to another, it helps them keep costs down and that cost savings translates to a lower price at the dealership for you.
More Automakers Need to Pay Attention to Chevy
Not only is GM the champion of parts sharing, but they’ve also used the bowtie brand to continually undercut the electric competition. The Bolt wasn’t the first Chevy EV to hit the market. Back in 2013, the Spark EV came to the lineup with a low sticker price. Even though EV technology didn’t offer the electric Spark much driving range, it was still much more affordable than most other EVs. When the Bolt EV arrived, it also showed a low price and that price has dropped heading to the 2023 model year.
You can bet that when the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV arrives, it will be one of the most affordable electric vehicles in the entire market. This new Equinox could have the right price point to become the volume leader in the EV market, especially in areas where fewer gas-powered cars will be sold.
Does the new Electric Equinox Offer Enough Driving Range?
Driving range is the question with almost all electric vehicles these days. Even as charging times are reduced, the need for greater driving range on a single charge remains. When the new Equinox EV arrives , the base 1LT trim should be good for 250 miles of driving. This version is also expected to offer 210 horsepower and 242 lb-ft of torque, which should be more than enough for this compact crossover. For most drivers, 250 miles of driving will be adequate for their daily lives.
Any Equinox owner looking for more diving range can choose the larger battery pack. This increases the driving range to 300 miles in FWD versions. Anyone opting for AWD will only have the larger battery pack and should reach close to 280 miles of driving range. The AWD setup adds an additional electric motor and increases power to 290 horsepower and 346 lb-ft of torque.
How Fast Can this new Chevy EV be Recharged?
When using a DC fast-charging station, the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV can add 70 miles of range in less than 10 minutes. This is less than what you’ll get if you choose the Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Kia EV6 but is better than the results for the Bolt EV and Bot EUV. When plugged into an at-home Level 2 charger, the Equinox EV adds 34 miles of driving range per hour. This means you’ll want to plug this EV in at night so it will be fully charged when you’re ready to head out on the road in the morning.
An Excellent Dashboard Package
The new electric Equinox should fill the spot required between the Blazer EV and the Bolt EUV to give us a compact crossover in the electric vehicle market. The dashboard in the new Equinox EV offers an 11.0-inch digital instrument cluster and a standard 11.0-inch infotainment screen. The infotainment screen can grow to 17.7-inches on select trims, giving you a massive screen in the middle of the center stack.
One of the best options for the new Equinox EV is the addition of Super Cruise. This feature continues to get better and now offers more than 400,000 miles of pre-mapped roads to make driving with your hands and feet relaxed much easier for you.
Will the new 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV become the electric SUV you want to drive? When compared, will those other models be worth more than $10,000 more than the Equinox? Probably not.
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